Always controversial, Rashad Khalifa, was an "absolutist" of hadith rejection
in Islam. He did NOT restrict his rejection to ahadith which he felt were illogical,
contrary to natural laws or historical facts, or contradictory among themselves or with
the Quran.

His stated position was absolutist:

"Hadith (oral) and Sunna (actions) were invented and
attributed to the Prophet. Hadith and Sunna are satanic innovations . . . ."

"Contrary to what the Muslim scholars and their followers
falsely accused Dr. Khalifa of, he always called on the true believers to follow and obey
the prophet Muhammed. . . . . This means the Quran, and not the teachings written by other
men, i.e., the hadiths books that were contaminated by many lies and fabrications. . .
."

"THE PROPHET MUHAMMED was represented by the Quran alone, .
. . . He was forbidden from uttering any religious instructions other than the Quran . . .
. The prophet Muhammed was ordered to deliver the Quran ALONE, without the least
alteration and never to fabricate anything else . . . ."

"Dr. Khalifa stressed the fact that throughout the Quran,
the message is clear to the believers that Quran should be the ONLY SOURCE of religious
teachings."

The Website of submission.org has an article Abu-Hurayra and the Shaping of Traditional
Islam, which levels accusations against hadith-narrator Abu-Hurayra for fabricating
ahadith. http://www.submission.org/Abu-Hurayra.htm.

It is against this background of hadith-rejection by Rashad Khalifa that we must seek
answers for the following questions:

Did Rashad Khalifa actually advocate an Islam that is hadith-free? Or did he create HIS
OWN AHADITH to "explain" the Quran, thereby committing the very wrong of which
he railed against in the case of Abu-Hurayra and others?

In attempting to answer these questions, I want to emphasize that evaluation of whether
there IS a "19" pattern in the Quran is outside the scope of this article.

I believe that the "19" issue is rather like disputes over authenticity of
the "Shroud of Turin." In the same way that the basic claims of Christianity
have not been DISPROVEN by scientific evidence that the Shroud is a fraud, the truth of
Islam is no way dependent on whether there IS or IS NOT a "19" pattern in the
Quran!

I. HADITH #1: CLAIM THAT RASHAD KHALIFA IS "MESSENGER
OF THE COVENANT"

Rashad Khalifa claimed that he personally was one of the "The Three Messengers of
Islam" :

[1] Abraham was the original messenger of Islam, . . .
[2] Muhammad was the scripture delivering messenger . . . , and
[3] Rashad is the purifying and consolidating messenger who delivered the religion's
authenticating proof . . .

In another "appendix," Rashad Khalifa further describes his own
"messengership":

"God's Messenger of the Covenant is a consolidating
messenger. His mission is to purify and unify all existing religions into one: Islam
(Submission)."

"As stated in the Quran, 3:81, God's Messenger of the
Covenant shall confirm all the scriptures, which were delivered by all the prophets, and
restore them to their original purity."

"The following is a list of the principal duties of God's
Messenger of the Covenant:

1. Unveil and proclaim the Quran's mathematical miracle (Appendix
1).
2. Expose and remove the two false verses 9:128-129 from the Quran (Appendix 24).
3. Explain the purpose of our lives; why we are here (Appendix 7).
4. Proclaim one religion for all the people, and point out and purge away all the
corruptions afflicting Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Appendices 13, 15, 19).
5. Proclaim that Zakat (obligatory charity) is a prerequisite for redemption (7:156), and
explain the correct method of observing Zakat (Appendix 15).
6. Unveil the end of the world (Appendix 25).
7. Proclaim that those who die before the age of 40 go to Heaven (Appendix 32).
8. Explain Jesus' death (Appendix 22).
9. Explain the Quran's delivery to, then through Muhammad (Appendix 28).
10. Announce that Muhammad wrote God's revelations (the Quran) with his own hand (Appendix
28).
11. Explain why most believers in God do not make it to Heaven (Appendix 27).
12. Proclaim that God never ordered Abraham to kill his son (Appendix 9).
13. Proclaim the secret of perfect happiness (Introduction, xx).
14. Establish a criminal justice system (Appendix 37)."

"Few years before his death, Dr. Khalifa declared that he is
the messenger of the covenant . . . prophesied in the Quran in 3:81 He presented a lengthy
document with proofs of his messengership from the Quran. He defended the fact that the
Prophet Muhammed was the LAST Prophet according to the Quran but not the LAST messenger .
. . ."

This claim of "messengership without prophethood" sounds suspiciously like a
claim of "imamate" - or a Christian claim of "sainthood"!

Can this claim of messengership be justified without ahadith?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Even in Rashad Khalifas OWN translation, Quran 3:81 does NOT name him as a
"messenger":

"GOD took a covenant from the prophets, saying, I will
give you the scripture and wisdom. Afterwards, a messenger will come to confirm all
existing scriptures. You shall believe in him and support him. He said, Do you
agree with this, and pledge to fulfill this covenant? They said,  We
agree. He said, You have thus borne witness, and I bear witness along with
you."

To justify his "messengership," Rashad Khalifa is, this, forced to do what he
started out promising NOT to do, i.e., to refer to authority beyond the words of the
Quran.

Rashad Khalifa, ultimately, relies on two types of authority:

A. PERSONAL TESTIMONY:

In "Appendix 2," Khalifa claims:

"During my Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and before sunrise on
Tuesday, Zul-Hijjah 3, 1391, December 21, 1971, I , Rashad Khalifa, the soul, the real
person, not the body, was taken to some place in the universe where I was introduced to
all the prophets as God's Messenger of the Covenant. I was not informed of the details and
true significance of this event until Ramadan 1408."

"What I witnessed, in sharp consciousness, was that I was
sitting still, while the prophets, one by one, came towards me, looked at my face, then
nodded their heads. God showed them to me as they had looked in this world, attired in
their respective mode of dress. There was an atmosphere of great awe, joy, and
respect."

"Except for Abraham, none of the prophets was identified to
me. I knew that all the prophets were there, including Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Aaron,
David, Noah, and the rest. I believe that the reason for revealing Abraham's identity was
that I asked about him. I was taken aback by the strong resemblance he had with my own
family - myself, my father, my uncles. It was the only time that I wondered, Who is
this prophet who looks like my relatives? The answer came: Abraham. No
language was spoken. All communication was done mentally."

This "personal" account is strikingly - maybe blasphemously - similar to one
of the hadith accounts of the Prophets "night journey":

Muslim, Book 001, Number 0309:

"It is narrated on the authority of Anas b. Malik that the
Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I was brought al-Buraq Who is an animal
white and long, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule, who would place his hoof a
distance equal to the range of version. . . .Then he took me to heaven. Gabriel then asked
the (gate of heaven) to be opened and he was asked who he was. He replied: Gabriel. He was
again asked: Who is with you? He (Gabriel) said: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent
for? Gabriel replied: He has indeed been sent for. And (the door of the heaven) was opened
for us and lo! we saw Adam. He welcomed me and prayed for my good. Then we ascended to the
second heaven. Gabriel (peace be upon him) (asked the door of heaven to be opened), and he
was asked who he was. He answered: Gabriel; and was again asked: Who is with you? He
replied: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent for? He replied: He has indeed been sent
for. The gate was opened. When I entered 'Isa b. Maryam and Yahya b. Zakariya (peace be
upon both of them), cousins from the maternal side. welcomed me and prayed for my good
Then I was taken to the third heaven and Gabriel asked for the opening (of the door). He
was asked: Who are you? He replied: Gabriel. He was (again) asked: Who is with you? He
replied Muhammad (may peace be upon him). It was said: Has he been sent for? He replied He
has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and I saw Yusuf (peace of Allah be
upon him) who had been given half of (world) beauty. He welcomed me prayed for my
well-being. Then he ascended with us to the fourth heaven. Gabriel (peace be upon him)
asked for the (gate) to be opened, and it was said: Who is he? He replied: Gabriel. It was
(again) said: Who is with you? He said: Muhammad. It was said: Has he been sent for?
He replied: He has indeed been sent for. The (gate) was opened for us, and lo! Idris was
there. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being (About him) Allah, the Exalted and the
Glorious, has said:" We elevated him (Idris) to the exalted position" (Qur'an
xix. 57). Then he ascended with us to the fifth heaven and Gabriel asked for the (gate) to
be opened. It was said: Who is he? He replied Gabriel. It was (again) said: Who is with
thee? He replied: Muhammad. It was said Has he been sent for? He replied: He has indeed
been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and then I was with Harun (Aaron-peace of
Allah be upon him). He welcomed me prayed for my well-being. Then I was taken to the sixth
heaven. Gabriel (peace be upon him) asked for the door to be opened. It was said: Who is
he? He replied: Gabriel. It was said: Who is with thee? He replied: Muhammad. It was said:
Has he been sent for? He replied: He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for
us and there I was with Musa (Moses peace be upon him) He welcomed me and prayed for my
well-being. Then I was taken up to the seventh heaven. Gabriel asked the (gate) to be
opened. It was said: Who is he? He said: Gabriel It was said. Who is with thee? He
replied: Muhammad (may peace be upon him.) It was said: Has he been sent for? He replied:
He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and there I found Ibrahim
(Abraham peace be upon him) reclining against the Bait-ul-Ma'mur and there enter into it
seventy thousand angels every day, never to visit (this place) again. . . ."

Ironically, Rashad Khalifa ridiculed Imam Muslim for "inventing
an indefensible story about [Muhammads] ascension to the heavens on a horse, at the
speed of light, and talking God out of 50 Salat prayers. At the speed of light, he would
still be traveling within the Milky Way Galaxy."

Yet, while rejecting the famous Muslim hadith, he expects believers to accept HIS OWN
HADITH about a meeting he had with the prophets of Islam!

B. NUMEROLOGY

Even Rashad Khalifa did not claim his name appears in the TEXT of the Quran.
Rather, the claim is that:

"The name of this messenger is mathematically coded into the
Quran as Rashad Khalifa. This very special verse warrants the presentation of
specific evidence. By adding the gematrical value of Rashad (505), plus the
value of Khalifa (725), plus the sura number (5), plus the verse number (19),
we obtain a total of 505+725+5+19 = 1254, or 19x66. Nineteen is the Quran's common
denominator, which was revealed through Rashad Khalifa."

Detailed numerological calculations - showing that the name "Rashad Khalifa"
fits a "19" pattern are contained in Appendix 2, Authorized English translation
of the Quran of Dr. Rashad Khalifa, http://www.submission.org/suras/app2.html.

All of this, however, begs the fundamental point: Even if there IS a "19"
pattern in the Quran, and under this "19" pattern "Rashad Khalifa"
COULD be the name of a "messenger," how would this prove the
"messenger" is "Rashad Khalifa" and NOT SOMEONE ELSE with a name WITH
THE SAME NUMEROLOGICAL VALUES?

Doesnt the resort to numerology merely conceal the fact that Rashad
Khalifas claim of "messengership" MUST depend on EXTRA-QURANIC TESTIMONY,
i.e. ahadith?

Logically, how can supporters of Rashad Khalifa criticize Abu-Hurayra, when they,
themselves rely upon numerological ahadith and personal testimony to establish that Rashad
Khalifa was allegedly "Messenger of the Covenant"?